Fugue
by Yarrow
Summary: After finding out Nabiki isn't supporting her family with all the money she makes, Ranma becomes determined to find out just what she's doing with it. What he discovers will surprise even him.
1. Chapter 1

Nabiki lay face down on her bed, legs up in the air as she read a manga. It wasn't her usual fare, but she was way ahead of her financial goals for the week and felt she deserved a treat. A tapping on her window interrupted her reading. "Of course," she thought, "The first afternoon I can just kick back and relax in weeks, and it _would_ have to be interrupted by my least favorite person to have a heart-to-heart with. Then again, he _could_ be here because he finally 'figured it out'... Considering the number of clues I've left for him, it'd be about time." She buried the excitement that last thought elicited, and without looking up, asked in a bored tone, "What is it, Ranma?"

"Can I come in?" asked the boy hanging upside down outside her window.

"I am extraordinarily busy right now," she said, idly turning a page in her manga. "If you want to use up my valuable time, it will cost you 500 yen, up front." A moment later, Nabiki was sitting up and putting a 500 yen note in her pocket while Ranma leaned against her desk. "Right, so what do you need?"

Ranma fidgeted nervously for a few moments before mumbling something unintelligible. When Nabiki scowled and pointedly checked her watch, he quickly blurted out, "I want to help out with expenses!"

"What are you talking about, Saotome?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? Your father doesn't teach any classes, but you still have a bunch of mouths to feed—especially since me an' pop got here. And there's other stuff, like clothes, and the repairs whenever Ryouga or Shampoo come by... I shoulda seen it sooner, but I guess I had other things on my mind. Anyway, some stuff got me thinkin' lately and I finally realized why you're so big on making money all the time." He frowned. "It ain't right for you to have to support your family by yourself. Especially not with me an' pop freeloading off of you. So, here," he said as he pulled a wad of yen from his pocket and tossed it onto the bed next to her.

Nabiki stared at the money for a moment and thought to herself, "Got to do this just right..." Turning to Ranma with a glare, she forcefully retorted, "Listen here, Saotome—we're doing just fine and don't need anyone's charity! Yes, daddy doesn't teach, but he doesn't have to. We have..." she paused as if quickly trying to think of something on the spot, "...investments. And they're doing quite well, thank you very much! So, just take your money back and stop wasting my time."

"Sorry, I ain't taking it back—guess you'll just have to keep it. I'm sure you'll find a good use for it," Ranma said as he folded his arms.

Nabiki looked down and glared at the floor for a moment before looking up and fiercely meeting his gaze. "Fine. If you want to give me gifts, I'll take them, but don't think they're being used to support my family."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied with a small smile before leaving the way he entered.

Nabiki looked down at the money on her bed, and with a chuckle whispered to herself, "Hook, line, and sinker."

* * *

Nabiki sat at the desk in her room and studied her bank statement intently. "Almost enough..." she breathed. "With Saotome's _gifts_ these past months and yesterday's wedding, I should make it with time to spare." An angry pounding on the door made her quickly put the statement away. "Hm, I wonder whether this is the happy groom or the radiant bride." More loudly, she called, "Come in."

"Ah, the radiant bride," she thought, but wisely didn't say, as her younger sister walked in and carefully closed the door behind her before fixing Nabiki with an angry glare.

"Why?" Akane asked in a voice that wasn't loud but was full of emotion. "Why did you sabotage my wedding? And don't tell me you invited all those people just to bring in more money—I know better." From the fierce gaze and the balled fists, it was obvious she wasn't going anywhere until she got an answer.

"You're not ready to get married."

"That's my decision—not yours!"

"That's true," Nabiki allowed with a nod. Then, narrowing her eyes slightly, she added, "But I'm still not going to let my little sister turn her life into a train wreck just because she thinks she's ready for something she isn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Akane, you're only sixteen, and you were about to marry someone you can't even admit you love. More importantly, you don't _trust_ Ranma; do you really think a happy marriage can come from that?"

With a bit of uncertainty in her voice, Akane replied, "I-I had my reasons."

"You mean the _Nannichuan_ water." Nabiki sighed. "It was a nice thought, but how long do you think it would have been before he decided you'd married him out of pity?"

Akane stared at her sister. "You don't really think he'd—" She sighed. "Yes, of course that idiot would." With a touch of annoyance still in her voice, she asked, "Is there anything _else_?"

"Just one more thing," Nabiki said, fixing her younger sister with a stare. "There's no way I'm going to just sit back and let you get trapped in an abusive marriage."

"Abusive marriage? What are you talking about? Ranma would never hit me!"

"I know," said Nabiki flatly.

Akane looked confused for a moment, then paled as her eyes widened. "You think I...? I do not! Except when he deserves—"

"As if you'd ever accept _that_ excuse from a man talking about his wife. Face it, Akane, you need time to sort things out before you're ready for marriage."

Akane stared at the floor for a long moment, then quietly said, "Maybe you're right..." She looked up at her sister. "Do me a favor, though. In the future, try talking to me _before_ calling in the armed thugs."

Nabiki smiled and said, "Will do. Now, if you don't mind, all this sisterly bonding has left me exhausted—and I have a feeling my next 'satisfied customer' is going to be coming around for a chat pretty soon."

As Akane left and closed the door, Nabiki leaned back and sighed. That had gone well; she'd been afraid her actions at the wedding might have driven a long-lasting wedge between her sister and her. Still, she'd only told Akane part of the truth—stopping her from messing up her life _had_ been one of the reasons she'd disrupted the wedding, but the money had been just as important. And, of course, there was also the little matter that hell would have to freeze over before she'd ever allow Ranma to end up as her brother-in-law.


	2. Chapter 2

Ranma stared at the ruins of the dojo and sighed. How could Nabiki have let things get so far out of hand? Ok, granted, she couldn't have known Ukyou and Shampoo would go insane and start throwing exploding food around, but it was obvious _something_ would happen with the people she 'invited'—and with _that_ bunch, any trouble tended to end in mass destruction. He shook his head. He really didn't mind that he and Akane hadn't gotten married—they were still pretty young—but innocent people could have been hurt. And then there was the cost to rebuild the dojo—Nabiki must have taken in a lot of money, but would it be more than the extensive repairs would cost? Further musing was interrupted by the sound of approaching weeping.

"My beautiful dojo," sobbed Soun, as he came to stand beside Ranma.

"It's all right, Mr. Tendou," soothed Ranma, who was just glad the man next to him was no longer lamenting the failure of the wedding. "We'll rebuild it just as good as before."

"Yes... I know. It just holds so many memories, and seeing it like this..." sighed Soun as he finally started to bring his weeping under control.

"Hey, don't worry—me an' pop will help out and we'll have it back together in no time."

Soun looked at Ranma in surprise. "It's good of you to offer, son, but we should just call the construction company. They do good work, and with the punishment this place takes, I'd feel more comfortable with a professional job."

"But won't that be awfully expensive?"

"Probably, but in a situation like this, money is no object," replied Soun confidently. He noticed Ranma seemed rather uncomfortable. "What's wrong, Ranma? Is there a problem with hiring someone to—Ahh, I think I understand... Don't trouble yourself, son—we're quite well off monetarily. Your concern speaks well of you, though."

"You _are_?" asked Ranma incredulously. "But you don't work or teach—" He broke off, blushing with embarrassment.

Soun smiled affectionately and shook his head. "My wife was a remarkable woman. When little Kasumi was on the way, she made some incredible investments that have paid out so well that our family will never have to worry about money." His expression hardened somewhat. "Of course, we maintain a modest lifestyle—one just needs to look at the Kunous to see what a life of excess brings."

Ranma just stared at the man. "I-Investments..." he repeated softly. Shaking himself, he said aloud, "I see... Excuse me, Mr Tendou, but I need to _talk_ to someone." Soun just nodded, lost in reminiscence of the woman he loved more than life itself.

* * *

Ranma glared at the girl lounging on the bed in front of him. He'd come into her room a few minutes ago and had been too angry to say anything to her. Maybe his furious stare would make Nabiki realize just how far she'd pushed him.

"You know, with all the fiancées you have, you really shouldn't start gazing at other girls. I am flattered, though, Saotome. Sort of." Maybe not.

"I had a little talk with your father," Ranma spat. "Care to guess what he said?"

"'Waah! My little girl will never get married and the schools won't be joined!'" Nabiki sobbed in an eerily accurate impression of her father.

"Uh, no..." said Ranma, somewhat taken aback by Nabiki's performance. "That was this morning after breakfast. No, just now he told me that you guys are rich!"

Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "Thanks for coming to me so quickly with that information, but I already knew. Is that all?"

"Damn it, Nabiki! You've been taking money from me for months to support your family, and now I find out they don't need it! That's low, even for you."

"Is that so? Do you happen to remember just what I said the day you came into my room and accused my family of being a charity case?" Nabiki nodded as Ranma shifted uneasily. "That's right—I told you we were doing just fine. And then you threw money at me and basically called me a liar to my face. When you **refused** to take your money back I said I'd keep it, but it wouldn't be for household expenses." She glared at Ranma, who now looked rather embarrassed. "So, what the hell are you complaining about!"

Deciding a good offense was the best defense, Ranma fired back, "I don't know... could it be your taking advantage of me, your sister, me, everyone else in Nerima, and did I mention, me? It was one thing when I thought you needed to, but now that I know you're just doing it so you can live in the lap of..." Ranma waved his arm to indicate the luxury of the room and paused as he failed to find any. Puzzled, he opened the wardrobe and peered inside.

"Saotome..." growled Nabiki warningly.

Ranma scratched his head as he found only an unremarkable amount of clothing, none of it looking new or expensive. "Where else would she keep stuff?" he wondered. Inspiration struck him, causing him to turn and stick his head under the bed.

"Oh, hi, Akane," Nabiki drawled.

"It's not what it looks like!" Ranma yelped as he tried to jump up and cracked the back of his head on the bed frame. Groaning, he pulled his head from beneath the bed and turned around. No Akane, and the door was still closed. He turned back to Nabiki, only to find her face an inch from his own. He noted that she didn't look happy.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded in a low voice, pausing between each word.

Ranma swallowed and backed up a little. "What _do_ you do with all the money you make? If you don't spend it for your family or on yourself, where does it go?"

"That's personal and none of your business. Now, get the hell out of my room or you'll rue the day **I** was born."

Ranma got.

* * *

Ranma jumped down from the fence he'd been walking along. "Hey, Akane, why's Nabiki so big on making money? I mean, she doesn't seem to ever spend any."

Akane was surprised be the question for a moment but then decided it was understandable after the wedding. "I don't really know. About five years ago, she just suddenly seemed to become obsessed with making money. Whenever we asked her what she needed it for, she'd say it was personal."

Ranma pondered the situation as he walked. Could it be drugs? Nah, he couldn't picture Nabiki doing that. Blackmail? He suddenly had a mental image of a nervous Nabiki handing a wad of yen to a yakuza thug. A moment later, that was replaced by the much more believable image of a nervous yakuza thug presenting Nabiki with a wad of yen. With a snort, he decided he'd just have to play detective and find out for herself. Herself? A look down confirmed that she was indeed female. She glanced around to see the little old lady with the ladle, obliviously splashing her walkway. She did her best to ignore the giggling Akane beside her.


	3. Chapter 3

Nabiki sat in the café, sipping her soda and trying to control her excitement. It was very difficult. Only two more days. Unless things went differently than she expected, the day after tomorrow would mark the end of five years of scheming and scrimping, and the return of what had been taken from her. She just had to make sure she didn't get more than she wanted. It was a shame, too, that no matter how things turned out, people would have to get hurt, but she was willing to accept that responsibility. She took another sip of her soda and surreptitiously glanced two tables over at the girl wearing a school uniform and a black wig and thought, "Sorry, Saotome, but sacrifices must be made."

* * *

Ranma sat at her table and tried to stay awake as Nabiki nursed her soda a couple of tables over; it helped that the wig itched fiercely. This was the second day she'd followed the girl after school, and just like the previous day, Nabiki had met a victim at the café, made them buy her something, and then charged them an exorbitant amount for some service or other. Today she was lingering over her drink; could she be waiting for someone else? She groaned to herself as that question was answered by the arrival of Kunou, who paused at the door to intently study a piece of paper before theatrically striding into the room. She wasn't looking forward to hearing his flowery bluster, but at least with her in disguise, he wouldn't be harassing her personally.

"Oh, my beauteous pigtailed goddess," murmured Kunou as he sat down across from Ranma and took the astonished girl's hand. "It brings joy to my heart that you have agreed to date me, even though you need hide your unearthly beauty so that you may slip from the clutches of that fiend Saotome. Now, let my love release you from that foul sorcerer's spell!" With that, he leaned forward to kiss Ranma, who with a snarl, jumped to her feet and slammed Kunou's face into the table with both hands.

"How many times do I gotta tell you I'm not interested!" she cried as she raised his head, only to slam it back down while smashing through the table from below with her knee. As Kunou flew back unconscious, Ranma snatched the slip of paper that fluttered through the air: it was a photo; of her; in disguise, as taken from the reflection of a storefront window. On the back of the photo was written a note detailing the name of the café and the current time as the place where the 'pigtailed goddess' would be waiting in disguise. With a growl, Ranma tore the picture in half, and suddenly noticing that the room had gone quiet, looked up to find everyone staring, except Nabiki, who stood by the door, silently applauding before giving her a mocking bow and leaving. Cursing, Ranma tore off her irritating wig and dropped it on Kunou's face: with any luck, it'd give him a rash and keep him home for a day or two. She didn't hold much hope, though; when was the last time she'd had luck of the good variety?

* * *

"Well, _that_ went well..." muttered Ranma as she walked home. "Not only did I not find out what Nabiki's doing with her money; I end up letting her use me again to make more." She sighed at how easily her own plan had been used against her. That had been one of her best disguises, too. How could she stay close enough to Nabiki if the girl could see through her disguises? If only she didn't know about the curse. Ranma slowed to a stop as a smile spread across her face—Nabiki may know about _her_ curse, but that didn't mean she know about _everyone's_ curses.

In a much better mood now, Ranma picked up the pace. "Now, where can the little porker be?" she wondered as she crouched slightly in preparation of jumping to a rooftop. At the last moment, she aborted the jump, remembering that she was wearing a skirt. Not that she was embarrassed that people would be able to see anything—she was really a guy, after all! It was just that she still felt awfully guilty about the four car pileup she'd caused the last time she'd jumped over a busy intersection dressed like that... Well, the longer walk would give her more time to figure out how to approach Ryouga, at any rate. Assuming she could figure out _where_ to approach Ryouga... As a stray gust of wind blew her skirt up slightly, she decided the Tendou home was definitely the first place she'd look. If nothing else, she could get a change of clothes and form there.

* * *

"I'm worried about Akane."

"What! Why?" demanded Ryouga, turning to face his rival. The two were standing in Ryouga's campsite in one of the larger Nerima parks where Ranma had finally tracked down his quarry. Both were currently boys (and dressed appropriately).

"I can't figure out what Nabiki's up to—what she's doing with all the money she makes—and I'm concerned she might get Akane into trouble."

Ryouga snorted. "Not much of a surprise you can't figure something out. What makes you think Nabiki's schemes would hurt Akane?"

"Remember what happened at the wedding? Someone could've been hurt because Nabiki invited all those people. Who's to say that next time she does something like that someone _won't_ be. Someone like Akane. And what if she ends up bringing the yakuza down on herself?"

Ryouga frowned. Much as he hated to agree with Ranma on anything, he had to admit he had some good points. "Ok...let's say I believe you. What do you want from me?" he asked suspiciously.

Ranma started to pace around the campsite. "Well, before we can figure out how to deal with Nabiki, we have to find out what she's up to. To do that, we have to stay close enough to her that we can both see and hear what she's doing. I tried doing that, but she saw right through my disguise. And it was a _good_ one—not one of the crappy ones that _you_ always fall for!"

"Ranma..." growled the other boy warningly.

"Oh, all right... Anyway, she may be able to see through disguises, but I doubt she'd be suspicious of cute, little P-chan."

"Absolutely not! No way!"

"Not even for Akane?"

Ryouga paused for a moment; Ranma wasn't fighting fair. As usual. Defensively, he asked, "What makes you think she doesn't already know who P-chan really is?"

"Do you have any money?"

"Some..." Ryouga answered guardedly.

"She doesn't know."


	4. Chapter 4

Nabiki gazed out the window of her almost empty classroom and watched Ranma running off the school grounds with Akane in hot pursuit. "Hmm... looks like Saotome's given up on direct surveillance and is moving onto 'Plan B'," she quietly mused to herself.

"Did you say something boss?" asked one of her subordinates, and the only other person in the room.

"Just thinking out loud. It looks like our cash cow has taken flight, so we may as well call it a day."

"Got it. See you tomorrow, then."

"Sure. I have some business in the morning, so I may be late. Cover for me and make a copy of your notes."

"Will do," said the girl as she left with a wave.

Nabiki idly waved back and went to get her book bag before leaving, herself. As she picked up the bag, she frowned. Something felt ... wrong. She shifted the bag around a bit and decided that it was a couple of kilos heavier than it should be, and from the way the balance shifted, a single object, about the size of a large grapefruit was responsible. Cautiously, she lifted the bag higher and placed her ear to it. As the sound of soft breathing reached her, her frown slowly changed to a smirk. After a moment of deliberation, she raised the bag to shoulder height and let it fall. Nabiki almost laughed aloud at the aggrieved squeal that followed the clatter of the book bag hitting the floor.

As a dazed black piglet staggered out of the bag, Nabiki put a concerned expression on her face and exclaimed, "Oh, my! How did you get into my book bag ... Charlotte?" At the pig's fear-filled stare, she shook her head. "That crazy girl must have really done a number on you if just hearing that name frightens you. Hm... Akane already left and I don't feel like going home just to drop you off, so I guess we're stuck together for the afternoon. Ok, get back in the bag and _don't even think about making a mess_." The last was said as she held the book bag open and gave the piglet a stern look. For his part, the pig swallowed nervously and carefully walked back into Nabiki's bag.

* * *

Ryouga was not having a good day. Then again, what could he expect from going along with one of Ranma's plans? Let's see... He'd managed to remain undetected in Nabiki's book bag for almost an entire minute before being discovered when he was somehow dropped from a great height. After that, he'd suffered a moment of sheer terror that he was about to be sold back to Azusa before being stuffed back into the bag for easy transit. He'd then nearly gotten sick when said transport included being vigorously swung back and forth as Nabiki walked. Fortunately, his queasy squealing had stopped the swinging and even resulted in the bag being opened enough for him to get some fresh air and a look at his surroundings—for the few minutes it took them to reach the café where Nabiki was meeting her customer. Since most cafés frowned on people bringing live pigs into their dining areas, it was back into the bag for him. Now, as her customer had turned out to be Kunou, who insisted on reciting poem after poem exalting his pigtailed goddess, the nausea was back in full force. At least things couldn't get any worse.

Ten minutes later, Ryouga was wondering why he couldn't keep his stupid mind shut. (Not that anyone would ever accuse him of not having a closed mind.) Once business with Kunou was finally over, Nabiki had left the café and given Ryouga a precious taste of light and air. And then she had cheerfully uttered the words that struck terror in his heart. "Hm... It looks like we have some time to kill before my next appointment, P-chan. Let's go try on some clothes."

As Ryouga was pushed back into the bag, he desperately hoped that Nabiki meant they were going to go look at cute little outfits for his piglet form. With a shudder, he offered the heartfelt prayer, "Please, God—let that be what she meant!"

* * *

Ryouga sat in the corner of the dressing room, intently studying the wall. It appeared to consist of patterned wallpaper over plaster. The paper was grayish-white and had a pseudo-random pattern of darker and lighter blob-like patches. He noticed, with some interest, that an edge of one of the wallpaper strips was peeling slightly, marring the wall's appearance. Now, usually his interest in walls extended no further than wondering how hard it would be to break through one and whether doing so would end up bringing down the entire structure the wall was part of. Right now, however, he was focusing his attention on the one before him as if life depended on it.

"Damn it. Why can't this brand just go along with everyone else on how big each size is instead of getting creative? I swear—I'm literally falling out of this top..." grumbled Nabiki.

Ryouga trembled slightly as he forced his attention back onto the wall, trying very hard not to picture Nabiki in (or mostly in) the top. Let's see... the paper looked like it had an interesting texture. He imagined how it would feel—warm, smooth, and soft, slowly rising and falling in time with her—No! Bad imagination! This was all _Ranma's_ fault, damn him! He'd get his! Yes, Ryouga would make him pay—and he knew just how to do it! He'd attack Ranma in the bath and when the bastard chased after him, he'd trick him into charging naked into Akane's room. As Ryouga imagined the violence and destruction that would follow, he broke into peals of evil laughter.

Suddenly Ryouga found himself being gently picked up and turned around. "Are you all right, P-chan?" asked Nabiki with concern in her voice. Ryouga stared at her with wide eyes. Fortunately, she'd taken off the mis-sized top; unfortunately, she hadn't gotten around to putting another one on after that. The piglet immediately succumbed to a massive nosebleed and passed out.

* * *

Nabiki walked through the park toward her second and final appointment of the afternoon, a revived P-chan hanging out of her book bag. Every so often, she glanced in the piglet's direction to make sure he hadn't died—or worse, bled on her schoolbooks. "Don't worry, P-chan, this meeting's outside, so you can stay out for it. Ah, and here we are now."

Ryouga watched with mild interest as they approached a picnic table near a fast food cart. The boy who was sitting at the table stood up, bowed, thanked Nabiki for coming, and asked if he could get her anything. Nabiki returned the bow, looked bored at the pleasantries, and remarked that a bowl of soup and a cup of ice water would be nice, before sitting down and putting P-chan on the table. For his part, 'P-chan' was thinking that the middle Tendou girl sure ate a lot, considering that Kunou had bought her something earlier. As his stomach growled, he thought it would be awfully nice if someone would buy _him_ something.

"Um, do you know there's a pig on the table?" the boy asked as he returned with Nabiki's order.

"Yeah, he's my sister's—I'm stuck pigsitting him for the day. So, I understand you need information on another school's soccer team?" As Nabiki took a sip of her soup, Ryouga decided this meeting didn't have anything to do with the girl's long-term plans and lay down, trying to ignore his lonely stomach.

"That's right—anything you can find out about each member's capabilities and mannerisms, along with strategies the team tends to employ." The boy grimaced and added, "And I'm afraid we need the information within two days."

Nabiki gave the boy a long look before answering. "Well, it's doable, but it'll be expensive with that time limit. It was my understanding that your team would normally handle this sort of research itself, however."

The boy flushed. "Yes, that's true. Unfortunately, there was an ... incident recently that, well, let's just say we lost what information we had and can't spare the team members to reacquire it in the time we have. And quite frankly, from what I've heard about you, I expect you'll do a better job in two days than we could in a week."

Ryouga tuned out the rest of the conversation as he started to doze. A minute later, he awoke as something landed in front of his snout with a soft plop. One eye focused on the fallen object—and was quickly joined by the other when the object was identified as a large mushroom slice. He jumped to his feet and sniffed at the mushroom before looking up at Nabiki with a questioning glance. When he received a quick wink in response, he wasted no time in attacking the food.

As Nabiki finished negotiations with her customer, Ryouga savored the meal he'd been given. That had to be one of the very few good parts of his curse—a little food went a _long_ way when he was in piglet form. Strangely enough, another good point was that mushrooms tasted _so_ much better to him as a pig for some reason. He didn't understand why, but he wasn't complaining. As his hunger pangs subsided, he thought to himself that maybe Nabiki was a lot nicer than she let on. Sure, she didn't come across as warm and cuddly, but she'd given some of her own food to a hungry pig, and even though she made people pay her for her efforts, when all was said and done, she did help a lot of people. At that moment, he resolved to get to know Nabiki better as a person.

* * *

Nabiki watched her client walk out of sight, then looked around to make sure the vendor had moved on, too. No one around: perfect. She gazed down at the deep-in-thought piglet on the table for a moment, then smirked and dumped the rest of her soup on him. 


	5. Chapter 5

It was a beautiful day in Nerima. The sky was free of clouds, the birds were singing happily, and Hibiki Ryouga was lying naked (except for a bandanna about his head) on a picnic table in a park. This wouldn't be overly noteworthy, except he was currently in human form. He was also lying in front of Tendou Nabiki and just starting to realize he was no longer a cute, black piglet. He quickly looked at Nabiki in a vain hope she hadn't noticed his transformation; the sight of her glaring at him quickly killed that hope.

"It's not what it looks like!" he cried while desperately trying to cover himself. Anything further he was going to say was cut off by a cup of ice water in the face. A moment later, the piglet he'd become was picked up by his bandanna and held before Nabiki's face; he couldn't help but notice that her eyes looked much bigger and much angrier from this perspective.

"Hibiki," growled the owner of the eyes, "we need to _talk_. Where are your clothes?"

"Bwee," the pig answered unhelpfully.

"Right... Are they someplace I'm familiar with?" Ryouga nodded. "School?" Ryouga shook his head. "My _home_?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. Ryouga gave a mournful squeal and nodded slightly. "What a pleasant concept," drawled Nabiki as her mouth twisted with distaste. "Well, let's go," she said, gathering her book bag in her free hand and setting out for home.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Nabiki arrived home with the now-dry piglet once again concealed in her book bag. After a quick check to confirm neither Ranma nor Akane were around, she went up to her room and released Ryouga from her bag.

"Ok, where are your clothes—and if the answer is 'here', our next stop is the butcher."

Ryouga frantically squealed a denial while rapidly shaking his head from side to side. A moment later, he walked over to the door and gave a little snort.

"You don't honestly think I'm stupid enough to follow _you_ somewhere, do you?" Nabiki asked. "Are they in the house?" The piglet nodded. "Ok, since you need hot water to use them ... the furo?" Ryouga blinked, then nodded.

"Ok, back in the bag," Nabiki ordered. With a weary sigh, he crawled back into the bag he was truly starting to hate, and a minute later he was dumped into the bathroom.

"Go change. I'll wait out here," Nabiki said as she closed the door.

Like a doomed man walking to the executioner, Ryouga slowly trudged toward the furo. Silently, he cursed his luck—of everyone in the world, Nabiki was the second to last person he'd want to find out about his curse. And considering that he'd just been in a dressing room with her while she was trying on clothes, she wasn't a very distant second. Well, no use putting it off... He climbed into the furo and changed. After a minute to dry off, retrieve his pack, and dress, he returned to Nabiki, who promptly dragged him back to her room and closed the door.

"Sit," Nabiki commanded, pointing to her desk chair before taking a seat on her bed. Ryouga put his pack down and sat where instructed. "Now," continued Nabiki, "explain _just_ how it's 'not what it looks like.'"

Ryouga opened his mouth, then paused. "Uh, what did it look like to you?"

"It _looked_ like my little sister's pet pig, whom she takes into her bed, changes in front of, and probably pours her heart out to, if I know my sister, is really _you_ with a Jusenkyou curse. Furthermore, in addition to however else you use your curse to take advantage of people, you also used it to worm your way into a changing room with me." Nabiki folded her arms and waited for Ryouga's response.

"I didn't want to go into the changing room with you! I just wanted to find out what you were doing—I didn't look at you when you were changing!"

"Oh, so in other words, you'd sooner claw your eyes out than see me naked," Nabiki offered brightly.

"Exactly." As silence descended on the room, the small portion of Ryouga's brain that kept track of what had been said recently noticed something and desperately tried to get the attention of the rest of the brain. Four seconds later, it succeeded. "No!" Ryouga cried while frantically waving his hands in negation. "I'd love to see you naked!" From the way Nabiki's eyes narrowed, he concluded that wasn't the right answer, either. With a sigh of resignation, he closed his mouth and stared at the floor.

"Done?" inquired Nabiki politely. Ryouga nodded. "All right. Here is what's going to happen: first, you are going to stop taking advantage of my sister. 'P-chan' is going to develop a strong aversion to being alone with her behind a closed door."

"Uh, how would we explain that?"

Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "P-chan is a pig—there's nothing _to_ explain. Whenever he finds herself alone with her and the door is closed, he will squeal frantically while clawing at the door. She'll get the idea quickly enough." At Ryouga's nod, she continued. "You'll also refrain from snuggling or nuzzling any parts of her that you would be hesitant to touch as a human. If you break either of these rules, I'll inform her of your curse immediately." Ryouga swallowed, then nodded again.

"Now," said Nabiki, holding out her hand, "your money, please."

Ryouga started to dig in his pack. "How much?" he asked as his hand closed on his hidden stash of money. When no answer came, he glanced at Nabiki to find her looking at him as if he'd asked a stupid question. After a moment's reflection, he decided he had, and placed all of his money into her waiting hand. "That's my life savings..." he said mournfully.

"Well, considering that I'm _saving_ your _life_ by not telling Akane, it's only appropriate," she replied while estimating the value of the surprisingly large wad of notes. "Here," she said, peeling off a few and returning them to him.

Ryouga looked at her in confusion. "What's this for?"

"Hey, I may think you're an honorless pig who takes advantage of everyone around him, but that doesn't mean I want you to starve to death. Oh, that reminds me—don't think I won't tell Akane about you in an instant if you try to take advantage of anyone in my family in a way I haven't specifically mentioned."

Ryouga flushed in a mixture of anger and shame at Nabiki's description of him, then shook his head and sighed. "It's not like that... Ok, I've used my curse to make Ranma jealous and get him in trouble—but he deserves that and more for ruining my life! Akane's a sweet, wonderful, caring person, though. I never looked at her when she undressed, and I'd never do anything to hurt her. I know I shouldn't have let her make P-chan her pet, but you don't know how it feels to be lost and alone, with no one to care about you—and then to finally find someone who treats you with kindness and affection..." Ryouga's voice trailed off, and after taking a deep breath, he softly finished, "It's just really hard to turn away from that, even if you know it's wrong."

Nabiki gave him a long, thoughtful look for several moments before quietly saying, "I think I understand. When you find someone that special, you'll do just about anything to stay with them—cross oceans, fight with all your might, even disguise who you are and why you're really there so you can be with them longer." Ryouga sighed to hear his own feelings spoken so clearly. Maybe Nabiki really did understand him.

"It's pretty obvious why you fell in love, too, when you think about it," she continued. "That generous heart—helping people in trouble, even if they don't deserve it..."

"Like Ranma," Ryouga thought while nodding.

"That incredible determination and fighting spirit..."

"That's right—she never hesitates to stand up to Ranma," Ryouga thought, again nodding.

"That amazing physique and classic beauty..."

"Ranma doesn't deserve her!" Ryouga mentally declared with a scowl.

"That cute little pigtail..."

Ryouga sighed, thinking about how it looked against those red Chinese shirts. A moment later, several parts of his brain started clamoring for attention. "Pigtail!" he cried, jumping to his feet. "You were supposed to be talking about Akane!"

"Why would I be doing that—_she_ isn't the one you followed all the way to China on the flimsiest of excuses—"

"He ran out on our man-to-man duel!" interrupted Ryouga. "That's why I was hunting him down!"

"Uh huh... So if you had a fight scheduled with, say, Mousse, and he wasn't there when you finally showed up, you'd run off to China to punish him?"

"Uh..."

"And isn't it _interesting_ that once you found Ranma, you just happened to fall for the one girl whom pursuing would _guarantee_ you stayed near Ranma and were constantly on his mind?"

"Damn it—it's not like that!" Clenching his fists and gazing heavenward, he cried, "Ranma, this is all your fault!"

"And as always, you come back to Ranma," remarked Nabiki, totally unfazed by the shouting. "Tell me, when I was describing 'Akane', how many times were you actually thinking of Ranma instead?"

Ryouga paled and stared at Nabiki for a moment before shaking his head and gritting out, "I **don't** think of Ranma like that! I **hate** him!"

"Calm down, Hibiki. I didn't say you wanted to jump his bones—there's such a thing as brotherly love, too, you know."

"Don't be ridiculous—he insults me whenever he sees me and has made my life a living hell."

"Sounds like a brother to me," Nabiki said as she picked up a nearby emery board and started to file her nails.

Ryouga just stared at her with a shocked look on his face for a long moment before picking up his pack and leaving the room without a word. A minute later, Nabiki looked up from her nails and asked the empty room, "Was it something I said?"

* * *

Nabiki felt light-headed as she stared at the glowing green numbers on her calculator. Taking a deep breath, she cleared the display, re-entered the numbers and hit the equal sign. The result was the same.

"After so long..." she breathed. With a huge grin that few people would ever expect to see on her face, she picked up the money she'd taken from Ryouga earlier that afternoon and hugged it to her chest. When she'd first looked at the money, she'd figured it was about twenty or _maybe_ thirty thousand yen, but during his many years on the read, Ryouga had learned the value of not looking too well-off and kept his larger bills deeply buried among the smaller. The actual value of his life savings had been approximately **ninety** thousand yen. With a little giggle, Nabiki decided she should have 'accidentally' spilled something on the pig months ago.

The sound of her giggle quickly brought Nabiki back down to Earth. "Don't lose it now, Tendou," she mentally admonished herself as she restored her usual poker face and neatly placed the money in an envelope which she locked in her desk. "It's still not too late to screw everything up, and skinning the pig any earlier would have risked that. In any case, delivering the money too early would be almost as bad as too late." She took another deep breath and forced herself to relax: after all, it wasn't as if she hadn't expected tomorrow to be the big day, it was just suddenly getting the last of the money she needed like that had caught her off-guard. Calmer now, she turned off the calculator and decided to spend some quality time with her family—just in case things didn't go well tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

"You're not concentrating, boy!" roared Genma as he let a punch slide by and grabbed the fabric of his son's gi in preparation of throwing him into the koi pond. Unfortunately, pausing for commentary proved even more detrimental than a lack of concentration, and before he could complete his throw, Ranma hopped into the air, planted his feet against his father's chest, and kicked off with a mighty thrust, hurling Genma across the yard and into one of the still-standing walls of the dojo with a resounding crash.

After flipping in midair to lightly land in a crouch, Ranma called, "What'd you say, pop? I wasn't paying attention." When his father just slid to the ground with a groan, he decided the morning sparring session was over and went to get cleaned up for breakfast.

In the furo, Ranma once again considered the question that had been troubling him while sparring: where was Ryouga? Now, it was true Ryouga's sense of direction was horrible, but if Nabiki had brought him home, he should have been able to change back and eventually stumble across some member of the household. _If_ Nabiki had brought him back. What was bothering Ranma was that neither she nor Akane had made any mention of P-chan yesterday or that morning. Maybe something had happened to the pig and Nabiki just decided to keep quiet about it.

Ranma snorted. As if Ryouga were that easy to hurt, even in pig form. Nah, knowing him, it was probably something stupid, like getting locked in Nabiki's book bag and being stuck there all night. Ranma chuckled at the thought, then frowned as he considered it more seriously. "Aw, crap," he groaned as he climbed out of the tub and grabbed a towel.

* * *

Ranma mentally cursed himself as he shoveled food into his mouth while simultaneously rebuffing his father's numerous assaults on his breakfast. If he'd been smart enough to figure out the mystery of Ryouga's disappearance faster, he could have easily searched Nabiki's book bag before breakfast. As it was, Kasumi's call to the table had come just as he'd finished dressing, and even _he_ knew that if he were late for breakfast, everyone would immediately wonder what he was up to. Sheesh, just because a guy has a healthy appetite... So, now he was reduced to carefully watching Nabiki's bag and trying to figure out what to do if it looked like pig-boy _was_ still inside. He could, of course, just snatch her bag and open it, but he didn't think even Kunou was crazy enough to invoke Nabiki's wrath in such a manner. No, he'd watch how she carried the bag and use his superior martial artist understanding of motion and balance to determine if a pig-headed, well, pig was inside. If there was, he'd claim to hear squealing coming from it. Perfect! A foolproof plan. Oops, she was getting up: time to watch _very_ carefully...

"Ranma! Quit ogling my sister!" cried Akane as she smacked him on the head. Ok, foolproof was one thing, but apparently Akane-proof was another.

As she walked to the door, Nabiki tsked and called over her shoulder, "Gee, Ranma, I would have thought you'd learn after I warned you about that when you were staring at me in my bed the other day." Make that Tendou-proof in general.

Ranma quickly turned to Akane in a futile attempt to explain himself but was thrown across the room by a vicious punch before he could get more than two words out of his mouth. As he lay in a crumpled heap in the corner, he was vaguely aware of her angrily shouting something before storming off. Stupid tomboy. Stupid Nabiki. That last thought reminded him of the task at hand, and he quickly looked around for the middle Tendou sister. He spotted her walking through the door, and after an moment of intense scrutiny, cursed as it became obvious that her book bag was far too light to be holding _books_, much less P-chan. Wait a second—why would she be going to school with no books? She was up to something! Intent on discovering Nabiki's secrets, Ranma jumped up and ran after her, ignoring his father's demands that he come back and apologize to his fiancée.

Once outside, he quickly ducked behind a bush and observed his quarry. So far, she wasn't doing anything unusual—just walking along like any other morning. He darted to another bush and carefully peered around it. Nabiki walked on with no sign that she was aware of being followed, and Ranma relaxed a bit; she probably figured she had several minutes before he even left the house. Carefully following her down a few blocks, he started to wonder if he was going to end up simply tailing her to school, but a moment later his concern vanished when she turned the next corner and started walking down a road that definitely wasn't on her normal route. Dashing to his next hiding spot, Ranma started to smirk: Nabiki hadn't even looked back the way she'd come once, and since this was a residential area, there weren't even any reflecting storefront windows to give him away this time. This was going to be a piece of cake. And that's what Ranma was thinking as Nabiki got into a taxi waiting at the curb and rode off.

* * *

Ranma stood on the rooftop, bent over with his hands on his thighs, gasping for breath. He'd done it; he'd managed, barely, to keep up with Nabiki's taxi. It had been close, though—very close—if the cab had made one more traffic light he would have lost it. As he caught his breath, he looked around to take stock of his surroundings. From the appearance of the streets and buildings around him, he could tell he was in Nerima's business district. The building directly across the street, which Nabiki had entered, was a bank. He briefly considered going in after her but quickly decided against it: the people who worked in banks got _awfully_ nervous about people who came in and tried to quietly snoop around. When you came down to it, they tended to get twitchy about people on their roof, too. He supposed it was understandable.

Well, if he couldn't go in after her, he'd just have to follow her again once she came out. With a grimace, he noticed the cab Nabiki had taken was waiting down the block, which probably meant she was going to be getting back in it once she came out of the bank. That could be a real problem if her next stop was far away or on a route whose path didn't give him enough of an advantage to keep up by roof-hopping. Maybe he should find a taxi of his own and tell the driver to follow Nabiki's cab (and step on it!). He could just sit back and relax in an air conditioned car instead of running himself ragged. Right, who was he kidding? Telling a cab driver to follow someone who'd just come out of a bank would be likelier to get him a free ride to the nearest police station. Oh well, he'd just have to do it the hard way. It was what he was used to, anyway.

After several minutes, Nabiki came out of the bank and headed for her taxi. Ranma felt a surge of excitement as he noticed that her book bag looked considerably heavier than it had before. Putting that aside for the moment, he decided he'd better get as much of a head start on the cab as he could and jogged ahead to the end of the block as Nabiki got into the car. When the taxi immediately made an illegal U-turn and headed down to the opposite end of the block, Ranma just sighed and wondered why he could never get a break.

Five minutes later, as the cab pulled over after a leisurely ten blocks of slow traffic and red lights, Ranma was forced to admit that maybe he _had_ been whining a bit... He looked down from his hiding spot on a rooftop and watched Nabiki step out of the taxi, which drove off, and walk up to the door of the small building in front of her. She paused to take a deep breath before opening the door and walking in.

Ranma frowned as he studied the building Nabiki had entered. It was a small one story structure that was made of bright red bricks, or at least faced with them. Strangely enough, there were no windows on the front of the building—only the single door. The sides were also free of windows, as there was no space between them and the taller buildings to either side. "Weird..." he muttered before jumping to the building's roof and jogging across it to check out the back of the place. At the far end of the roof, he just stared at the looming wall of the building behind the one upon which he stood: not a millimeter of space separated the two structures. Turning around, he noticed something else that bothered him—the roof was completely flat and featureless; not a vent, skylight, nor air conditioning unit marred it. "What the hell kind of building is this?" he asked aloud. Shaking his head, he went back to the front of the building and dropped to the sidewalk below, where he approached the door.

The building's single door was made of a dark wood and looked rather heavy. It was decorated with a pattern of raised squares about a foot across, each, and sported a curved brass handle above which a thumb lever and keyhole sat. Other than that, there were no markings or adornments: no knocker or bell, no plaque describing the building's purpose, and no peephole. All in all, it looked like it would be more at home at the entrance to a fancy Western-style house. "Well, no turning back now," said Ranma, and preparing himself for anything, opened the door and stepped through.

* * *

Ranma looked around the large room in which he stood. He'd been ready for a forbidden temple, or a stairway leading down into the secret depths beneath Tokyo, or a secret gambling parlor, or maybe even some sort of high tech complex... An antique shop just wasn't a possibility that had crossed his mind. Oh, it was a very nice one, with lots of stuff—just glancing around, he could see several large, ornate mirrors with gilded frames; a phonograph, complete with brass horn; an old-fashioned bicycle with an oversized front wheel; a couple of suits of armor; kimonos; statues; several different types of dolls; and various pieces of furniture. All of it was in excellent condition, too: wood was rich and lustrous, metal gleamed and sparkled. Still, he couldn't imagine what Nabiki would be doing here. With a slight frown, he walked further into the room.

"Ah, Mister Saotome—how good to finally meet you! I was afraid you wouldn't find your way here before I closed shop this week. Please, do come in," cried an aged man as he stepped from behind an armoire and noticed Ranma, who took a moment to quickly size him up. He was a Westerner of some sort, pudgy and a bit short (for a Westerner), with unkempt thinning white hair and a wispy beard, and appeared to be around sixty. Not a fighter. He wore brown shoes, blue slacks, a white dress shirt, and a silver vest. As he walked toward Ranma with an affable smile on his face, he added, "I'm afraid you just missed Miss Tendou, but you're more than welcome to look around."

"What! No way—I just came in the only door, and there's no way she had time to get out without me seeing her!"

"Only door?" queried the man as he headed to a counter with an old brass cash register, beckoning Ranma to join him. "Oh, not at all—that's simply the only one that leads directly to the street."

Ranma followed the man and resisted the urge to bang his head against the counter at once again being outmaneuvered. "Look, can you tell me where she went?" he asked. "It's important."

"I'm sorry—I really would like to help you," said the man as he took a seat behind the counter, "but I simply can't go around revealing my customers' secrets. The people I do business with tend to be very private."

Ranma sighed. "It's ok... I understand." He looked around the shop, noticing a few doorways, most occupied by closed doors but one by a beaded curtain, in addition to the one by which he'd entered. "I guess I'll be going," he said, and after a pause for another casual glance around, he pointedly (though he was trying for nonchalance) asked, "Any particular door I should take?"

The man chuckled and shook his head. "I really can't help you like that, Mister Saotome. However..." he said, while stroking his beard thoughtfully, "there's no reason I can't give you some free advice."

"Free advice?" echoed Ranma, somewhat confused about how that would help.

"Oh, yes. I'm rather familiar with the unique relationship between you and Miss Tendou—would you like a chair, by the way? No? Very well—as I was saying: if you like, I may be able to offer some insight which could help you in your 'endeavors'."

"Uh, sure. Thanks," said Ranma, only slightly less confused now.

The man nodded. "Now, from what I know of your situation, your primary obstacle is quite simple: with the exception of matters dealing with the martial arts, Miss Tendou is far more intelligent than you." Ranma started to protest, but subsided as he was forced to admit the guy had a point. Not seeming to notice the near-interruption, the man continued, "Unfortunately for you, this allows her to quickly and accurately evaluate situations from very few clues, predict the actions of people around her, and devise plans that allow her to manipulate others with a high degree of success. This is obviously a great advantage in her favor, but fortunately, the essence of your response is clear."

"It _is_?" asked Ranma, who'd been having enough trouble just trying to keep up with the man's elaborate speech.

"Oh, yes. Just as in the martial arts, when an adversary surpasses you in a certain area, you either fight him in a manner which negates that particular advantage—such as fighting a faster opponent in a mud pit—or take measures to improve yourself so as to remove the disparity."

"Ok, I think I got the first part: yeah, that makes sense, but you lost me after that."

"To put it simply, if your adversary is faster than you, you improve your own speed until you are just as fast. In your case, since Miss Tendou is more intelligent, you would need to become as smart as she."

Ranma snorted. "Like that's going to happen."

"It could..." said the man as he gave Ranma a long, considering look, then reached under the counter to pull out a small, silver box.


	7. Chapter 7

Ranma stared at the small silver box sitting on the counter before him. It was maybe ten centimeters long by five centimeters wide by about a centimeter high and bore an engraving of a leaping deer. One of the long edges was hinged and the other had a small button which presumably released the lid.

"What is it?" he asked, looking up at the man on the other side of the counter.

In answer, the man pressed the button with a finger, causing the lid to flip up to reveal a dozen small, translucent green spheres resting on a bed of black velvet. "This, my friend," he said softly, "is the answer to your problem. Smart pills—just one will make you the mental equal of Miss Tendou."

Ranma leaned in close and stared at the pills. The were each about four millimeters in diameter, and frankly, looked like candy more than anything else to him. "How much?" he asked. "And how long do they last?"

"As a special price for your first purchase, four thousand yen per pill, and each one is guaranteed to last for a minimum of two days."

Ranma looked at the man in surprise; that price just might be within his means. Indeed, a brief search of his pockets turned up the amount with two hundred fifty yen to spare—the last of the money he'd gone out of his way to earn for Nabiki when he thought she'd be using it for her family. He put the money on the counter. The man punched the amount into the antique brass cash register and put the money away before extracting a single pill from the box with a pair of silver tweezers and placing it on a piece of tissue paper before his customer.

"So... I just swallow it?" asked Ranma as he studied the pill with a bit of apprehension. Was he really sure this was a good idea? Maybe it wasn't, but he was pretty sure he'd never figure out what Nabiki was up to, otherwise.

"Yes, though it's very important that you think of Miss Tendou when you do so. Let me get you a glass of water."

"Nah—I ain't no wimp," snorted Ranma, and in a show of bravado snatched the pill and tossed it down his throat while thinking of Nabiki. "So, how long does it take—" His question went unfinished as he closed his eyes and leaned on the counter in response to the whirlwind that suddenly tore through his mind. It seemed to last for hours, and all he could do was desperately try to hold himself together.

Finally, his mind slowly began to clear, and he could only marvel at the difference—thoughts seemed to streak across his brain like lightning, with half of them splitting off new lightning bolts of thought. It felt wonderful! Almost disdainfully, he asked himself what eighteen times sixteen was. Two hundred eighty eight. Why did Akane pound _him_ whenever he was grabbed by a girl? Probably because hitting the girl would make it seem like she was defending her man from a rival, and she couldn't bear for people to think she really wanted him. What was Nabiki doing with the money she earned? Probably buying stuff here, if they sold stuff like smart pills. With a smile, he opened his eyes.

"This is amazing! I never realized..." He trailed off as the sound of his voice reached his ears. Something was very wrong; he looked down at himself. Herself. But not his cursed form and not the clothes he'd been wearing. With a feeling of dread, she ran to the large mirror hanging on the wall nearby and stared at her reflection. A young Nabiki in an unfamiliar school uniform stared back.

"What the hell have you done to me, old man!"

"Please relax, Mister Saotome, it's simply a side effect of the pill."

"Side effect! I'm _Nabiki_!" shrieked Ranma, still staring into the mirror. "And I'm **twelve**!" Whirling to the man, she demanded, "How long will it last?"

"Ah, well I'm afraid side effects of this nature tend to be permanent, though you should grow out of the age change, in time."

Ranma clenched her fists and, taking a threatening step toward the man, growled, "You'd better find a way to make it **un**permanent or I swear, I'll..." Suddenly she stopped, with an expression of horror on her face. It was gone: all of the skill, knowledge, and instinct related to fighting was completely absent. The subtle changes in stance and balance that should have come automatically to her when she considered attacking, didn't. She couldn't even remember exactly what _should_ have happened. When she desperately tried to recall specific moves and techniques, her mind just couldn't find anything to focus upon.

A polite cough caught her attention. "I did say that Miss Tendou's intellect was superior in all respects _except_ those pertaining to the martial arts. But don't despair; your transformation can be reversed.

Ranma let out a long breath and tried to relax. "Ok, old man, reverse it then."

"Well, there are some difficulties involved, I'm afraid. Apparently, much of Miss Tendou's mental prowess is a direct consequence of her experiences—that's the reason for your current age: the pill transformed your body to one ideally suited to gaining the experience you need to become her intellectual equal. Until you gain that experience, however, the pill's task is not completed, and it will resist any efforts to reverse its effects. In addition, even before taking that into account, the components required to fashion a counter to the pill's effects are quite rare, so I'm afraid I'd have to charge you somewhat more for this product."

"How much?" asked Ranma as she walked back to the counter.

"Fifteen million yen. Mister Saotome? Mister Saotome? Are you all right? Perhaps I should get you that water now!"

As the man walked a short distance to a desk bearing a pitcher of water, Ranma clutched the counter and tried to get her breathing under control. Fifteen million yen! She'd never be able to get that much money! Maybe when she'd been in her own body she could have hit a bank or something, but now? Wait! Mr. Tendou was loaded—all she had to do was convince him to give her the money to change back! She'd probably have to promise to do everything in her power to make a _successful_ wedding possible, but that would be a small price to pay. As the man returned with the water, she straightened up, much calmer.

"Here, drink this," he said, presenting a glass. With a nod, Ranma took a sip, then experimentally splashed a bit on herself, noting that no transformation resulted. As if reading her thoughts, the man said, "Hot water won't have an effect, either; the curse is tied only to your original body."

"Nice... say, once I get changed back, do you think you'd be able to get rid of my curse—without turning me into someone else?"

"Perhaps, but I'm afraid we have a problem. As I said, the pill will resist any attempts to undo its effects until you've acquired experience comparable to Miss Tendou's; the further you are from this goal, the stronger the resistance will be. I'm sorry to say that until you've attained at least three years worth of experience, the pill's power will be too strong to overcome."

Ranma paled. Asking Mr. Tendou for fifteen million yen so she could get changed back and try to settle the problems keeping her and Akane apart was one thing. Asking for the same amount to get changed back three years down the road was another matter entirely. Of course, considering the man's mental state, it was quite possible that he might not be willing to give up a second Nabiki after having her around for a few years, too.

"To make matters worse," continued the man, interrupting Ranma's thoughts, "as I said earlier, I'll be closing shop within the week and expect to be inaccessible from that point. Fortunately, I believe I have a solution which addresses all of these problems."

Putting her new mind to good use, Ranma offered, "You're going to make the antidote now and let me pay you when you get back?"

"No, no... the 'antidote' as you call it wouldn't have a shelf life of more than a week, and I deal on a strictly cash on delivery basis. No, Mister Saotome, I will—free of charge—arrange things so you will have an opportunity to amass the full five years' experience along with my fee before the week is up."

"Aw, come on, old man—to do that, you'd have to send me back in time or some... thing..." She trailed off and looked down at her twelve year old self, complete in school uniform. She looked up at the man, who just smiled at her. "Don't be ridiculous! What would I say—that I'm Nabiki's long-lost twin sister? And, anyway, I don't recall there being two Nabikis... hey does that mean if I go along with this, I get cured before I ever get here from China?"

"No, so far as I can tell, there's only ever been one Tendou Nabiki in the past (excepting the past five minutes)."

Ranma frowned. What did that mean—that she _didn't_ go back into the past? If the old man knew that already, then why bother suggesting the idea in the first place? But if she did go back, the only way there wouldn't be two Nabikis was if there wasn't one to begin with. No, wait—that didn't work (thank God). "If you're trying to say that I _am_ Nabiki, that doesn't make any sense; I look twelve now, and she's been part of her family all her life—I've seen pictures."

"Yes and no," the man said, stroking his beard. "When I say I'll send you into the past, I don't mean that I intend to hurl you back in time; I take more pride than that in my work. What I would do is insert you into the past. Hm... how to explain? Ah, consider reality to be a tapestry, with each person being one of its threads. When a person is born, where his thread is placed determines who he lives his life as. When I insert you into the past, I will cut your thread and put the remainder where it would have been if you had been born the second daughter of the Tendou family. Since I am actually weaving you into the tapestry in such a way, it will be as if you had always been there as Miss Tendou."

Ranma stared into space for a moment, a stunned look on her face, then exclaimed, "I don't believe it!"

"Well, I admit it's a rather simplistic explanation, but I assure you, so far as it goes, it's the truth."

"No, no," said Ranma, waving her hand, "I don't believe I followed all that! So, you're saying that there wasn't originally a Tendou Nabiki at all, but if you insert me into the past, it will change reality to what it _would have been_ at that point if she'd been there all along. Does that mean if you took my entire thread, instead of just part of it, to put in Nabiki's spot it would make it seem like Ranma had never existed?"

"Yes, exactly! I must admit, I am _very_ impressed with your reasoning, Miss Tendou."

With a slight blush, Ranma said, "Aw, it wasn't _that—_what did you call me?" She sighed. "Never mind; if I go through with this I guess I'll need to get used to it. So, will _I_ remember that I'm not Nabiki? If so, will I also remember what she would know? And what if I change the past: what if I make it so I never come here?" Ranma had to admit she was really starting to like having a supercharged brain; her old self wouldn't have thought of these questions until after the fact, if even then.

The man nodded in appreciation of the questions and answered, "You will remember both your past experiences and the events of young Miss Tendou's life, though the latter won't feel as real to you. As for changing the course of history, yes it is possible, but your own personal history will not change, so if you prevent Mister Saotome from coming here, there will be two of you running around. My own relationship with time is also unusual, so rest assured, I will still know to restore you, no matter how much things change."

Ranma shuddered at the man's words—even she had no desire to be in a Nerima (or world) with _two_ Ranmas. Clearing her head of that image, she crossed her arms and carefully considered the situation and whether there were any better solutions. After a few minutes, she shook her head and sighed deeply. "Do I even have a choice? Doesn't the fact that there _is_ a Nabiki mean that I've already gone back?"

Fixing her with an intent gaze, the man firmly stated, "You always have a choice. All Miss Tendou's existence proves is that someone, some day, will travel back in time and take up her life; it doesn't have to be you."

Reassured somewhat, Ranma went back to searching for a better solution. She couldn't think of any, but as another realization struck her, she shook her head and smiled wryly. "I guess now I know why Nabiki was always so hard on me in particular—I was the only person she didn't have to feel guilty about using." Focusing her gaze back on the man, she gave a determined nod and said, "Ok, let's get this over with."

"Very well. Follow me, please," the man said as he walked to a door in the shop's back wall. With a few whispered words, he opened it, revealing a street beneath a gray sky that was spraying a fine mist of rain. As Ranma approached, she recognized the area as a spot not too far from the Tendou home. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself and prepared to walk through, only to be brought up short by a call from the man.

"Miss Tendou—don't forget your book bag."

She looked where he was pointing and saw a bag that she was sure hadn't been there a moment ago leaning against the door frame. Giving him a dark look, she snatched it up, and just before walking through the door, turned fully to him and growled, "You just get working on that antidote, 'cause you can be sure I'll be back with your damned money, old man."

"With that attitude, Miss Tendou, I will be very surprised if you aren't," he replied as he closed the door behind the girl.

"You and me both, old man," drawled a seventeen year old Nabiki as she walked through the beaded curtain and into the room.


	8. Chapter 8

"Allow me to apologize once again for the interruption, Miss Tendou," said the white-haired man as he turned to Nabiki. "I'm sure you understand that it was necessary."

"That's ok," she said while walking to the counter, "I was pretty much expecting it." Upon reaching her destination, she began pulling bundles of yen notes from her book bag and stacking them on an empty spot near the cash register. By the time the man joined her, she'd just finished placing the last bundle. "Here it is, old man: all fifteen million."

The man glanced at the pile of money, and with a solemn nod, said, "Very impressive, Miss Tendou, but, then again, I never doubted your success. Now, are you ready to return to your old self?"

"No."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said no. The only thing I want back from you is the Art."

"I ... see," said the man, sounding a bit taken aback. "I _should_ be able to do it, but if you don't mind, I'd be very interested in hearing _why_ you want this; when you were first transformed, you seemed quite adamant in your desire to regain your form."

Nabiki let herself relax slightly; she'd been afraid the man either wouldn't or couldn't restore just that one part of who she'd been. As for his request, she had to admit that she sort of wanted to explain her decision—it would feel good to get it off her chest, and it wasn't as if she'd be able to discuss it with anyone else. Leaning against the counter, she began to speak.

"You're right. When I first changed, I was desperate to get turned back. Not much I could do about it, though, other than write down everything important I could remember about my last year as Ranma—especially what lead up to my first visit here—and try to get used to being Nabiki. Even with all the new memories I had, it wasn't easy keeping everyone from thinking little Nabiki had gone crazy." She chuckled. "I think I really spooked poor Kasumi—for the longest time, she kept giving me strange looks when she thought I wasn't paying attention. Still, after a while, they got used to the 'changes' in me, and I—I got used to being a part of a family.

"Do you know... that was the first time I remember ever feeling like I was in a real family. I'm sure I must have felt that way before going on that training trip so long ago, but even when I was Ranma, I didn't remember that far back." She sighed and shook her head. "It's a good feeling, old man—really good. Sure, we didn't have a mother, and our father may have been a card or two short of a full deck, but we all cared for each other, and there was something that was just never present with the Saotomes. Maybe it was acceptance—we never tried to force each other to be perfect, or 'the best', or even normal.

"That was probably the start of it. It wasn't enough to make me stop wanting to be Ranma—and a guy—again, but it did make me realize that being Nabiki wasn't necessarily so horrible. But, you know, after a couple of years, I stopped caring so much about being a guy, too. You see, this time around, instead of suddenly being turned into a girl at sixteen by a cursed spring, I grew up as a girl, with two caring sisters to support me. It makes a world of difference. Mind you, I don't think that I'm a girl, body and soul, now, or anything like that; I just know that I'm me, and whether I'm a boy or girl isn't all that important.

"Anyway, life went on: I built up my network of associates and informants at school, found out what services people would pay for, started up betting pools, and threw in a bit of blackmail where appropriate." With a frown, she added, "I did a lot of things I didn't really want to and that I'm not proud of, but it was the only way I had any chance of getting enough money. You see, it didn't take me long to realize daddy would never give me much money without an explanation I couldn't give him, and considering what I wanted it for, it just wouldn't be right to ask, anyway. Even with all of my schemes and operations, though, I wouldn't have come close to making what I needed if my little ace in the hole hadn't finally come over from China. Everyone either loved or hated Ranma, and I remembered how most of his fights would go.

"That right there was one of the reasons I treated him so bad—it was how I remembered being treated, and I was afraid if I behaved differently, it'd change things enough to negate my advantage. And like 'I' said on my way out earlier, I didn't have to feel guilty when it was myself I was taking advantage of." Nabiki sighed and ran a finger along the edge of the counter. "I wish those had been the only reasons. Stupid as it may be, I was punishing him—myself—for having the Art when I didn't and being arrogant, gullible, and clueless about what was going on around him. Look, I'm sorry—you wanted to know why I changed my mind, and here I am giving you my life story..."

"Oh, no, I'm finding this really quite fascinating. Please, continue."

"Ok... Ranma. I guess what disgusted me most about him was how he let everyone use and abuse him. It didn't seem like such a big deal to me when I was living through it the first time, but it looked so much worse when I could see everything from the outside. All his life, he's been either a pawn or a prize to others—hell, just look at his own family. His father wanted to make him the world's greatest martial artist, no matter what the cost—especially if Ranma ended up being the one to pay it. And then there's Genma's endearing habit of selling off his son whenever it would make things easier for him. Nodoka was better, of course, but still—sending him off for a decade with a death threat hanging over him..."

Nabiki paused to shake her head. "My family wasn't any better, of course. Daddy insisted he marry Akane, whether he wanted to or not, regardless of other commitments, and blamed him whenever anything happened to threaten the union. Akane... well, she just blamed him for everything; and then punished him for it. The strange thing is, I think she really does love him, but her jealousy and insecurity make her push him away and lash out at him. Kasumi, on the other hand, was actually pretty nice to him. And you know about me.

"Other than that, there were the assorted fiancées, rivals, and mythological beings, but now that I think about it, they're really not worth the time it'd take to talk about them. Let's just say they all took turns trying to take over, disrupt, or destroy his life, and Ranma found himself unwilling or unable to put his foot down and take control of things. I can tell you that I wouldn't have put up with that, which I suppose finally brings us to the point of this monolog: I'm not Ranma, not any more. What I've lived through, how I had to think and act, along with being smarter and seeing my old self from a different point of view, has made me an entirely different person.

Really, why would I _want_ to go back to living his life, anyway? To be a _Saotome_ again? Or maybe I miss the constant harassment and abuse from a swarm of fiancées who never gave a damn how I felt. Except Akane..." Nabiki sighed. "Sure, out of them all, she treated me the worst, but she's also the only one who _really_ cared about my welfare, at least some of the time. And I loved her for it. Feh, I was as bad as Ryouga: the first time someone showed some real concern for me, I fell in love with her. Coming back to her was one of the main reasons I was determined to get restored." She shook her head and smiled wryly. "But after having her as a sister for five years, I can't love her as anything else. Oh well—she probably would have ended up killing me, anyway.

"And that's pretty much it, old man. So, if you can give me back my Art, I'll just stay like this, thank you—smart, a member of a loving family, and in control of my own life. Hell, I control _other_ people's lives more than Ranma ever controlled his own. Now you have your story, so can we get on with it already?"

"Just about, Miss Tendou, but tell me, if it turns out that I can't restore only your martial arts skill, do you still wish to remain as you are?"

Frowning and slowly shaking her head, Nabiki said, "No... if the only way for me to get it back is to be Ranma again, I'll be him—in body, at least. You can bet I'd be making some major changes in his life, though."

"I understand. Now, to avoid any misunderstandings like those we had with the smart pill, please tell me _exactly_ what you want."

"All right. I want you to restore to me all of the skill, knowledge, and ability—_excluding_ the neko-ken—I had of the martial arts as Ranma immediately prior to taking this form, without changing me in any other way."

The man nodded and said, "I'll do my best," before walking over to an antique combination bar and liquor cabinet and carefully measuring out the contents of several crystal flasks. Nabiki watched from the counter with interest as the man proceeded to mix various liquids and powders, until several minutes later, he paused with a measuring spoon halfway to its destination and called, "Ah, Miss Tendou, I'm afraid that I must make one additional change to you if I am to fulfill your request."

With a slight frown, Nabiki asked, "And what would that be?"

"I will need to improve your physical conditioning to the point where it can support your martial arts ability."

"Will it make me look different?"

"Not to casual glance, certainly, but someone able to get a good look at your body when it isn't concealed by clothing will notice changes if they have seen you in such a state previously."

Nabiki crossed her arms and gave the man a hard look. "Excuse me if I'm not reassured, old man, but with those qualifications, you could turn me into an hermaphrodite with tentacles growing out of my armpits."

The man coughed in embarrassment and said, "Ah... yes, I see your point. Let me assure you that the changes would be limited to what could reasonably be expected from exercise and training."

"Fine. Go ahead, then."

The man went back to work, and a few minutes later, he walked over to Nabiki with a flask of red liquid in hand. "Here it is," he said solemnly. "Just drink this, and your martial arts skills, excepting the neko-ken, will be restored."

Nabiki gave him a long look, then took the flask and drank the contents. "Tastes like cherries," was her only comment.

"That would be the cherry syrup," the man said proudly. "It would taste quite horrid without it."

Nabiki nodded absently and shifted her weight slightly to improve her balance and allow for quicker movement. When she realized what she was doing, a smile slowly spread across her face, and breath quickening, she walked to an open spot, where after a moment of stretching, she began one of the many katas she once again knew. Within moments, she lost herself in the glorious sensations that had always felt to her like a cross between flowing like water and flying. The memory of that sensation was all that she'd retained of her martial arts over the past five years, and it had tortured her like the memory of the taste and feel of water to a man lost in the desert. Now she was experiencing a torrential downpour over the burning sands.

When she regained awareness of her surroundings at the end, it was to the sound of applause. "That was amazing!" the man enthused, still clapping. "I can't recall when I've seen such a display of grace and control—I now understand why you were so determined to reclaimed your aptly named Art. I have to admit—oh, dear... is it that late already?" he said with some dismay as his gaze fell upon a grandfather clock.

"What's wrong, old man," asked Nabiki, her face still bearing a joyous smile from performing the kata, "got a hot date?"

"No, but I'm afraid my next customer is due any minute, and there are still a few things that need to be said between us," answered the man as he began to quickly stash the pile of money Nabiki had brought behind the counter. "I really am terribly sorry, but would you mind waiting in the back room again? As before, so long as you remain behind the curtain, you will not be noticed. However, since this customer is a completely separate person from you, I must ask for your word that you will not interfere with this meeting in any way."

"All right, you have it," said Nabiki as she took her bag and walked to the curtain. She wondered what had happened to the man's insistence on keeping his customers' secrets, but decided it wasn't in her best interest to bring up the subject. After all, knowledge was power.

Once in the back room, she turned and watched the man go to the front door and open it, less than a second before an angry boy wearing a yellow and black bandanna around his head stormed in, loudly declaring, "This is all your fault!"

"I beg your pardon?" asked the man with some surprise. "I wasn't aware I'd done anything to you."

Nabiki mentally added the word, "Yet."

Ryouga stopped and looked around in confusion. He could have sworn he was outside. Focusing on the man, he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and said, "Sorry... I was talking about Ranma."

"Oh, you know Mister Saotome?" asked the man as he closed the door and started walking back into the shop. "He was just in here a while ago. We were discussing the possibility of a cure for a curse."

"You-you can cure curses!" cried Ryouga, hurrying after the man.

"Perhaps. It depends on the situation, really. But where are my manners—we can discuss this further once I get you something to drink. Would you prefer tea or ice water?"

"Tea," answered Ryouga automatically; he'd learned long ago not to press his luck with cold liquids. The man nodded and invited Ryouga to look around before leaving to make the tea. Ryouga wandered over to the counter with the antique brass cash register, his mind focused more on the possibility of a cure than on his surroundings. If he could be free of his curse, he was sure he'd be able to muster enough courage to declare his love for Akane! Yes, that would **prove** Nabiki's ridiculous theory wrong. How could she even _think_ he could l-lo... have feelings for Ranma! That the only reason he'd fallen for Akane was to stay close to him...

No! It was obvious that Akane was the one he loved. With a sigh, he rested his elbows on the counter and dreamed of his _true_ love. He pictured her caring face all the times she'd shown compassion for those in need, whether they were a helpless piglet or lost, solitary, wandering martial artist. How he loved to bring a smile to that face. Not like Ran... other people who seemed to take perverse delight in insulting and enraging her. No, Akane deserved far better than ... other people. With a scowl, he forcibly dragged his thoughts back to Akane and Akane alone—_she_ was the one he loved, after all. Yes, beautiful, smart, caring, bold, and fearless Akane—perfect in every way... "Well, except her cooking," thought Ryouga immediately before going into a fit of coughing as his tongue tried to escape down his throat. Quickly shifting his thoughts back to his true love's good points, he scooped up a few of the small green candies from the silver box on the counter and popped them into his mouth to ease the coughing. They tasted horrible but did the trick, as they made Ryouga's tongue realize it wasn't being exposed to anything nearly as bad as Akane's cooking. Still, they weren't anything Ryouga wanted to continue tasting, so he swallowed them.

* * *

A few minutes later, the man walked back into the room carrying a silver tea service. As he walked to the counter with it, he began to wonder what had happened to his customer, but the prone form lying beside his destination answered his question quite nicely. "Oh, dear," he said with dismay as he set down the tea and knelt beside the unconscious young girl. After checking her pulse and breathing, he attempted to revive her with gentle pats to the back of her hand. When the girl's eyes slowly fluttered open, he gave her a reassuring smile. 

"W-what happened?" she dazedly asked as she tried to sit up.

"You collapsed while I was getting the tea," he said, helping her up. "Did you hit your head? Can you tell me your name?"

"I don't think so—it doesn't hurt. And my name, it's..." she trailed off, staring into space for a long moment. "It's the strangest thing—it's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't think of it right now..."

"Here, have some tea; maybe it will help," said the man as he rose and poured a cup. When he turned back around to offer it to his customer, he found her standing beside him and staring at her reflection in the polished side of the cash register.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, raising a hand to her cheek, "I'm Akane! I mean, my name is Tendou Akane." With a frown, she walked over to a mirror and studied herself critically. "How strange... for some reason, I thought I was older..."

"Please, Miss Tendou, do sit down and have some tea—you did collapse just a few minutes ago," implored the man as he brought a chair over to the counter.

"Oh, all right," said Akane as she walked over and sat down. "But I'm tougher than I look, you know—I'm a martial artist."

"Of course," said the man as he sat down on the other side of the counter and prudently put the smart pills away. "Still, I am somewhat concerned about your memory lapse; would you mind telling me about yourself?"

"Well, I live in Nerima and have two older sisters. I'm sweet, caring, pure, and—" She suddenly broke off and blushed bright red as she realized what she was saying. "I mean, I'm a martial artist! And... um, I help people who need it. Yes, that's it. I like animals and hate bullies. Um, what else..." She took a sip of her tea, then got up and started pacing as she tried to recall more. "Mm, I'm good at school and—aah!" As she picked herself up off the floor, she glared at the man and said, "You know, that's a really _stupid_ place to leave a backpack."

"I'm sorry, Mister Hibiki must have left it there. Do you know him?"

"Hibiki...? The name sounds familiar," she softly said, her gaze distant and unfocused, "but it seems to be slipping away from me, like a dream I can't quite remember..." She shook her head and seemed to come back to herself. In a firmer voice, she said, "No, I'm sorry. I don't remember him."

The man nodded, as if he'd been expecting that answer. "Don't worry about it, Miss Tendou; I was merely curious. How are you feeling now?"

"Better," Akane said, after thinking about it for a moment, "but it's still hard to remember things..."

"I'm sure everything will come back to you in time. Perhaps familiar surroundings and some fresh air would help. Allow me to call you a cab to take you home."

"Oh, you don't have to do that—I can walk."

"If you're sure..." sighed the man as he stood up. "At least allow me to show you out." When Akane smiled and nodded, he gestured for her to follow him and led her to a door at the back of the shop.

As he opened the door to reveal the same rainy afternoon it had shown Ranma, Akane stopped dead in her tracks, then took a half-step back, faintly saying, "M-my umbrella... I need my umbrella."

"Ah, I believe these are yours," the man said as he picked up a book bag and blue umbrella that were leaning against the wall nearby and offered them to her.

"Thank you," she said as she gratefully accepted the items, and opening the umbrella, stepped through the doorway. The moment she was outside, she froze in place, standing motionless for several seconds, before turning to the man with a radiant smile on her face. "You were right! The fresh air was just what I needed—it's all coming back to me!" Suddenly adopting a serious manner, she gave the man a formal bow and said, "Thank you very much for your help and hospitality." Straightening up, she exclaimed, "I have to go home now, or my sister Kasumi will worry. Bye!" And with a last wave to the man, she ran off.

* * *

In the room behind the curtain, Nabiki leaned against a wall and considered the concept of Ryouga being Akane in both body and mind, with no conscious memory of her past life. It was bizarre. It was ridiculous. It ... explained a lot, actually: Akane's quick temper and freakish strength when she was truly enraged; her love/hate relationship with Ranma; why she always trusted Ryouga and took his side, and her strange inability to figure out that he and P-chan were one and the same. It even explained why she expected to be a good martial artist when she never practiced or put in the necessary time and effort—subconsciously, she knew she _had_ done all that and stubbornly refused to do it over. 

Shaking her head, Nabiki walked back into the main shop and approached the man. "So, all along, Ranma was Nabiki and Ryouga was Akane. I guess we've just been chasing our tails all this time..."

"Oh, I wouldn't put it like that," said the man as he turned to her. "I see it more like a fugue: a piece of music played several times in turn by different instruments, each one influencing and interpreting the music in its own unique way."

Nabiki tilted her head thoughtfully as she considered the idea. "I suppose that make sense." As she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, she added, "Especially when you throw in the psych. definition—wouldn't you say, old man?"

"Er... yes. I must say, you do have a rather impressive vocabulary, Miss Tendou."

"I get by," said Nabiki dryly. "Now, why don't you tell me what you're _really_ up to. You don't actually expect me to believe that Ryouga and I just _happened_ to end up as sisters? And while I may not have been able to recognize a set-up five years ago when I was Ranma, I had no trouble noticing it this time through. So, come clean, old man—what's this really all about?"

"Unlikely as it may seem, I truly did not expect Mister Hibiki to take the smart pills." At Nabiki's skeptical snort, he shook his head and bemusedly said, "I honestly thought I would have to sell him a 'cure' to transform him into Miss Tendou. Of course, even if I weren't seeking such an end result, once he took enough pills to make him truly believe himself Akane, I had no recourse other than to send him back in time and weave his thread into the tapestry so he would have the appropriate memories."

The man sighed, then fixed Nabiki with a serious look. "Very well. I engineered your and Mister Hibiki's transformations to fulfill someone else's request. A little over five years ago, a young Tendou Kasumi—"

"Kasumi?" exclaimed Nabiki, "Who's _she—_the panda? A Kunou? Wait, I know—she's really the old pervert!"

"Please calm yourself, Miss Tendou; Kasumi is the same sweet girl she always was. But after her mother passed away, she became very lonely and depressed tending to her distraught father. Such a loving child, selflessly giving up her own life to care for the man who should have been caring for her... How could I resist giving her the one thing she felt would brighten her life and make her feel like a member of a real family once again? How could I deny her wish for—"

"—sisters," Nabiki finished with him.

"Yes," the man said while nodding. "I must admit, I was impressed both by her giving nature and her wisdom in knowing better than to ask for her mother back."

Nabiki spent several moments digesting what she'd learned; finally, she asked, "Does she remember how things used to be?"

"Oh, yes; she wouldn't be able to appreciate the gift fully, otherwise."

"I see," Nabiki said with a nod, "that does make sense. Now, why don't you tell me the real reason for all of this."

"I assure you, Miss Tendou, what I told you is—"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure it's all the literal truth," Nabiki said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Suddenly fixing the man with a piercing stare, she continued, "But it isn't why you manipulated Ryouga and me specifically. Now, since you've gone through so much trouble to make sure I saw and heard enough to figure out something deeper was going on, why don't you just tell me."

The man silently studied her for a long moment, the quietly said, "I underestimated you, Miss Tendou. It's true I expected you to ferret my true motive from me, but I did not expect you to realize you were being guided to do so." As a genuine smile spread across his face, he said, "It's a refreshing change. Very well, I will give you your answer; it's rather simple, really. If we imagine reality as a tapestry once again, just as with actual tapestries, some patterns are intrinsically more pleasing than others. I consider it my responsibility to make minor alterations to the tapestry to ensure a better pattern. In this case, a much more desirable reality results from replacing Mister Saotome and Mister Hibiki with you and your sister."

Dozens of questions ran through Nabiki's head. What made a pattern 'better'? How many other people were out there 'making alterations'? What right did they have to rewrite other people's lives? She looked at the old man patiently waiting for her to ask him something and suddenly realized that the real question was whether she wanted to stay there and be drawn deeper into his affairs or leave now and finally get on with her life. It only took a moment's thought to arrive at an answer. "See you around, old man," she said, grabbing her book bag and heading for the front door. "Thanks for the water," she added, tossing him a casual wave.

The man sputtered in surprise for a moment at her sudden departure before breaking into peals of laughter. "Ah, Miss Tendou, it is truly a joy to converse with you! So long as my shop is here, the door will always be open to you."

Nabiki paused, feeling slightly warmed by his statement. "Thanks, old man. Say, do you have a name?"

"Oh, several," the man replied with an affable smile. "Would you you like to purchase one?"

"No, thanks," she said with a snort, as the warmth abruptly flowed away, "I'm happy with the one I have." And with that, she walked out of the shop and back into the sunlight.

* * *

Free. She was finally free... Free from having to make earning money the focus of her life. Free from keeping everyone at arm's length because they'd be distractions she couldn't afford. Free from the stomach-clenching worry over whether she'd make enough money in time, and eventually, who she'd be going home as once she paid the old man. And finally, she was free of that damned sense of déjà vu that had been plaguing her almost every day since a girl and her panda arrived from China. 

She turned to take a last look at the shop that had been the beginning and end of her five year trial and froze in surprise at what she saw. Or what she didn't see, to be more precise—where the small building had been nestled among its taller neighbors was now a vacant lot. Quickly recovering, she just shook her head, and with a smirk, said, "So long as the shop is here, the door will always be open, huh? Crazy old man." With a mental shrug, she turned her thoughts to more important matters as she began walking to school.

Now that she didn't need to devote herself to making money, she could finally relax and let people discover who the _real_ Tendou Nabiki was. She had to admit, she was quite interested in finding out, herself. Maybe she could finally make some friends; maybe even a girlfriend... She wouldn't make the mistake of focusing _too_ much on the Art, like Ranma did, even if it was one of the most important things in her life. Nabiki smiled as she considered the endless possibilities before her—for the first time in either of her lives the future was wide open.

End of Fugue

* * *

Author's notes: First, I'd like to thank the following: Takahashi Rumiko, for creating Ranma 1/2; my two beta readers for making my story better than it otherwise would have been; and everyone who read my story, especially those who left reviews. I had thoughts of continuing the story or eventually writing a sequel about what happens next but decided either one would probably end up just detracting from the story. I'm not completely ruling out a sequel if a great idea comes to me, but I wouldn't count on it happening. I hope everyone who's reading this far enjoyed the story. If you did, you might want to consider rereading the story now that you'd understand the cryptic lines in the earlier chapters—I'm told it's fun. Anyway, thanks again, and as it says in my profile, while only some of my stories will be posted on this site, all of them can be found on my homepage. (1/13/06) 


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